No abstract

G12 rotaviruses are emerging rotavirus strains causing severe diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. However, the whole genomes of only a few G12 strains have been fully sequenced and analyzed. In this study, we sequenced and characterized the complete genomes of six G12 strains (RVA/Human-tc/MMR/A14/2011/G12P[8], RVA/Human-tc/MMR/A23/2011/G12P[6], RVA/Human-tc/MMR/A25/2011/G12P[8], RVA/Human-tc/MMR/P02/2011/G12P[8], RVA/Human-tc/MMR/P39/2011/G12P[8], and RVA/Human-tc/MMR/P43/2011/G12P[8]) detected in six stool samples from children with acute gastroenteritis in Myanmar. On whole genomic analysis, all six Myanmarese G12 strains were found to have a Wa-like genetic backbone: G12-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1 for strains A14, A25, P02, P39, and P43, and G12-P[6]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1 for strain A23. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most genes of the six strains examined in this study were genetically related to globally circulating human G1, G3, G9, and G12 strains. Of note is that the NSP4 gene of strain A23 exhibited the closest relationship with the cognate genes of human-like bovine strains as well as human strains, suggesting the occurrence of reassortment between human and bovine strains. Furthermore, strains A14, A25, P02, P39, and P43 were very closely related to one another in all the 11 gene segments, indicating derivation of the five strains from a common origin. On the other hand, strain A23 consistently formed distinct clusters as to all the 11 gene segments, indicating a distinct origin of strain A23 from that of strains A14, A25, P02, P39, and P43. To our knowledge, this is the first report on whole genome-based characterization of G12 strains that have emerged in Myanmar. Our observations will provide important insights into the evolutionary dynamics of spreading G12 rotaviruses in Asia.

SUMMARY: Human rotavirus samples from 54 children with acute gastroenteritis in Myanmar in 2011 were subjected to reverse transcription-PCR to determine their G and P types. On G typing, G2 (24/54; 44.4z) was found to be the most prevalent, followed by G12 (17/54; 31.5z) and G1 (1/54; 1.9z). Mixed cases with G2 and G12 were found in 12 of the 54 (22.2z) samples. On P typing, P[4] was found to be the most predominant (29/54; 53.7z), followed by P[8] (17/54; 31.5z) and P[6] (4/54; 7.4z). Mixed cases with P[4] and P [8] were detected in 4 of 54 (7.4z) samples. Thus, occurrence of G2 and unusual G12 in high proportions was characteristic of human rotaviruses in Myanmar in this study setting.Human group A rotaviruses are the major pathogens causing acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. It has been estimated that rotavirus infections are responsible for the deaths of approximately 400,000 children per year in developing countries (1). Also in developed countries, rotavirus gastroenteritis is associated with severe cases requiring hospitalization. Furthermore, some of central nervous system disorders, including encephalopathy, appear to be related to rotavirus infections. With this background, 2 live rotavirus vaccines have been licensed worldwide and are included in the scheduled immunization programs in many countries.Two rotavirus outer capsid proteins, VP7 and VP4, are independently associated with the G and P types, respectively. A cutoff value of 80z nucleotide sequence identity has been employed for defining distinct G and P types (2). At least 27 G types and 37 P types have been reported to date in mammalian and avian species. In humans, at least 10 G types and 10 P types have been detected. G1 to G4 and G9 are the major G types, with G5, G8, and G12 being the unusual ones, while, P[8] is the most common, followed by P[4], P[6], and P[9]. G1P[8] is the most frequent G and P combination in the rotaviruses isolated from symptomatic humans worldwide (3).Although global surveys on the G and P types of human rotaviruses have been extensively performed, there have been few epidemiological studies on human rotaviruses in Myanmar (4,5). In this study, we characterized human rotaviruses in Myanmar by genotyping the VP7 and VP4 genes, and found a high prevalence of G2 and unusual G12.Stool specimens were collected from children with gastroenteritis in the Defense Services Obstetrics, Gynecology and Children Hospital, Yangon, Myanmar. The ages of children ranged from 2 months to 3 years. Fifty-four rotavirus-positive diarrheal children selected randomly were enrolled in a double-blind, placebocontrolled clinical trial of rotavirus-specific IgY conducted between January 2011 and March 2011 (6). Stool suspensions (10z) were prepared from the stool specimens collected from the 54 children before the start of the trial.For G typing and P typing, rotavirus double-stranded RNAs extracted from the stool suspensions were used as templates for reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) in 2 steps (fi...

HIV infection has been shown to be strongly associated with the development of active tuberculosis. However, its association with leprosy was much less clear. Moreover, seroprevalence of HIV infection among leprosy patients has never been reported in Myanmar. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HIV among leprosy patients and the association between HIV infection and types of leprosy in central Myanmar during 2008. A total of 299 leprosy patients, including 242 multibacillary (MB) and 57 paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients, were enrolled. The overall HIV seroprevalence was 3.7%, with 4.1% in MB leprosy patients and 1.8% in PB leprosy patients. Fifty MB leprosy patients (20.7%) had history of multi-drug therapy (MDT) and 4 of them (8.0%) were HIV infected. Six out of 192 MB leprosy patients without history of MDT were HIV infected (3.1%). MB leprosy cases with history of previous treatment had greater prevalence of HIV infection. Further study should be considered whether HIV infection may cause difficulty to cure leprosy and additional MDT course may require in HIV infected leprosy patients with previous history of MDT.